CHICAGO -- Legislation to promote domestic production of rare earth elements crucial for high technology and clean energy industries has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
The legislation is a companion to a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in March by Colorado Republican Rep. Mike Coffman.
The legislation drew immediate praise from the United States Magnetic Materials Association, a coalition of companies representing domestic high performance magnet producers and suppliers, who said Murkowski's bill would re-establish competitive domestic rare earths mineral production, processing, refining, purification and metals production industries.
Trade group officials noted that the legislation would create "whole-of-government" approach that would involve the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Energy, State and Defense as well as the U.S. Trade Representative and science and technology policy office in the White House.
"Sen. Murkowski is right to liken our dependence on China for rare earths to our dependence on foreign oil," said Ed Richardson, USMMA president and vice president of Thomas & Skinner Inc., a manufacturer of cast and sintered alnico magnets, magnetic assemblies, transformer laminations and soft ferrite magnets.
Richardson added that if the United States is to be a leader in clean energy technology it will need a reliable domestic rare earths supply chain. China currently provides 97% of the world's rare earth raw materials and dominates world rare earth refining, alloying and manufacturing, officials. But Chinese domestic consumption of rare earth materials will outpace Chinese domestic supply as soon as 2012, they said.
"America's growing reliance on foreign materials endangers our efforts to advance cleaner energy," Murkowski said in a statement. "We have slowly but surely surrendered the front end of the clean energy supply chain." She noted that the United States is estimated to contain 15 % of the world's rare earth reserves.
"Rather than further restrict mining in this country, the industry could be creating American jobs and producing minerals that are essential to clean energy technologies," Murkowski added. "Unless action is taken we will trade our current dependence on foreign oil for an equally unsettling dependence on foreign materials."
Murkowski's office noted that the Alaska state legislature had recently passed to resolutions urging Congress to advance development of new rare earths reserves in the United States.
